Associate of Applied Science in Medical Assisting
Start your healthcare career as a Medical Assistant
The objective of the Associate of Applied Science in Medical Assisting is to provide students the medical assisting skills required for entry into the healthcare industry. This healthcare education program gives students theory and hands-on experience that will allow them to demonstrate their clinical skills including patient care, laboratory procedures, venipuncture, assisting with exams, collecting specimens, administering patient medication, recording vital signs, and taking patient history. Students will also be able to demonstrate administrative skills including scheduling, bookkeeping procedures, medical office and records management, processing of insurance claims, and procedural and diagnostic coding. If you want a career in healthcare and you're interested in our Associate of Applied Science in Medical Assisting program, request more information from our medical assistant schools in Virginia.
Medical Assistant Program Requirements and Online Options
Students can complete the program through classroom instruction at our medical assistant schools in Virginia. Arts and Sciences courses can also be completed online. It typically takes weeks 60 weeks (6 quarters) to complete the entire Associate’s program without breaks.
| Credits Required | Number of Classes |
|---|
| Core Component |
67.5 |
15 |
| Arts and Sciences |
22.5 |
5 |
| Total Required for Graduation |
90 |
20 |
Student Disclosures
The U.S. Department of Education requires that we report and disclose certain information about our school programs in a clear, prominent, user-friendly, and easily understood manner. The intent of the requirement is to enable students to make an informed choice about a program of study. To this end, we have developed documents containing the following information:
- The tuition and fees;
- The employment rate(s);
- The median loan debt incurred by students;
- The on-time completion rate;
- The occupations that the program may prepare students to enter, along with links to the O*NET occupational profiles; and
- The graduation rate.
U.S. Department of Education references from 34 Code of Federal Regulations:
- Occupation (Sections 600.2, 600.4, 600.5, 600.6, 668.6, and 668.8)
- Gainful Employment Reporting and Disclosure Requirements (Section 668.6)
- Student Right-to-Know Act (Section 668.45(d)(3))
ACICS-Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools. Program level standards reporting requirement of student achievements.
- Retention rate by programs
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Click on each group of courses below to expand the course list and descriptions.
Core Requirements
Anatomy and Physiology I
Credits:: 4.5
Prerequisites:
This course is a scientific study of the structure of the human body and
its parts including organization of the body, the relationships and
functions of the digestive, urinary, cardiovascular, lymphatic,
respiratory, reproductive systems, nutrition and metabolism. Laboratory
activities coincide with lectures to enhance understanding of each topic
by providing visual and hands-on experiments. Supplemental Lab Fee
required. Prerequisite: None. Lecture Hours: 30; Lab Hours 30
MED110
Anatomy and Physiology I
4.5
Medical Terminology
Credits:: 4.5
Prerequisites:
This course presents a study of basic medical terminology. Prefixes, suffixes, word roots, combining forms, special endings, plural forms, abbreviations, and symbols are included in the content. A programmed learning, word building systems approach is used to learn word parts for constructing or analyzing new terms. This provides the opportunity to decipher unfamiliar terms and check their spelling. Emphasis is placed on spelling, definition, usage, and pronunciation. Abbreviations introduced as related terms are presented with each unit. Prerequisite: None.
MED120
Medical Terminology
4.5
Anatomy and Physiology II
Credits:: 4.5
Prerequisites:
This course is a scientific study of the structure of the human body and
its parts including relationships and functions of the Integumentary,
muscular-skeletal, nervous, and endocrine systems. Laboratory activities
coincide with lectures to enhance understanding of each topic by
providing visual and hands-on experiments.
Supplemental Lab Fee required. Prerequisite: MED110. Lecture Hours:
30; Lab Hours 30
MED210
Anatomy and Physiology II
4.5
Professional Procedures
Credits:: 4.5
Prerequisites:
This course is designed to assist students as they transition from the classroom into professional medical assisting practice. A comprehensive review of the clinical, administrative, and general areas of competence required for entry-level practice will be covered as well as the methods of obtaining professional credentials. Prerequisite: MED250, MED255, and MED285. Lecture Hours: 30; Lab Hours: 30.
MED220
Professional Procedures
4.5
Medical Law and Ethics
Credits:: 4.5
Prerequisites:
This course is designed to cover medical jurisprudence and medical ethics. Legal aspects of office procedures are covered, including a discussion of various medical and ethical issues in today’s medical environment. Prerequisite: None.
MED230
Medical Law and Ethics
4.5
Electrocardiography
Credits:: 4.5
Prerequisites:
This course enables the student to perform electrocardiography (EKG) and recognize and interpret basic cardiac rhythms along with atrial, junctional, and ventricular arrhythmias. Recognition and identification of the location of various myocardial infarctions is also included in the course. Utilizing the skills learned, the student will be able to identify and respond appropriately to life threatening cardiac arrhythmias and EKG changes. Prerequisite: MED210. Lecture Hours: 30; Lab Hours: 30.
MED285
Electrocardiography
4.5
Externship
Credits:: 4.5
Prerequisites:
Requires Allied Health students to integrate and apply knowledge and skills from all previous medical assistant courses in actual ambulatory health care settings. Learners perform medical assistant administrative, clinical, and laboratory duties under the supervision of trained mentors to efficiently transition to the role of a medical assistant. This is a supervised, unpaired, clinical experience. Prerequisite: Approval of the Student Advisor or Dean.
MED290
Externship
4.5
Phlebotomy Procedures
Credits:: 4.5
Prerequisites:
This course is a review of laboratory and clinical procedures in a medical office. The course includes the discussion of possible complications with phlebotomy. The student will perform venipuncture and capillary sticks while using proper safety procedures. Supplemental Lab Fee Required. Prerequisite: MED210 & MED140. Lecture Hours: 30; Lab Hours: 30.
MED255
Phlebotomy Procedures
4.5
Basic Clinical Procedures
Credits:: 4.5
Prerequisites:
This course focuses on universal precautions in the medical environment, including understanding blood borne pathogens, HIV/AIDS and hepatitis, infection control, collecting and handling specimens and an introduction to microbiology. In addition, the student will gain proficiency in medical asepsis in a simulated setting. Also covered will be emergency procedures. Prerequisite: MED110. Lecture Hours: 30; Lab Hours: 30.
MED140
Basic Clinical Procedures
4.5
Pharmacology
Credits:: 4.5
Prerequisites:
Various aspects of clinical pharmacology will be discussed including a study of the various medications currently prescribed for the treatment of illnesses and diseases based on a systems method. Included in the course are common abbreviations used in prescription writing, interpretation of prescriptions, and legal aspects of prescriptions. In addition, dosage calculations and administration will be taught and practiced. Prerequisite: MED110 & MED210. Lecture Hours: 30; Lab Hours: 30.
MED240
Pharmacology
4.5
Exams and Specialty Procedures
Credits:: 4.5
Prerequisites:
This course presents theories and principles of patient care, including taking medical histories and documentation, the physical examination, rehabilitation medicine, minor surgery, and specialty procedures. Supplemental Lab Fee Required. Prerequisite: MED140. Lecture Hours: 30; Lab Hours: 30.
MED260
Exams and Specialty Procedures
4.5
Computer Office Application
Credits:: 4.5
Prerequisites:
In this course, students learn how to generate word, spreadsheet, database, and presentation documents using the Microsoft Office Professional suite and other contemporary office utility products. Topics include: editing methods, document merging, templates, document preparation, file naming and storage conventions, backup methods, macros, desktop publishing, object linking and embedding (OLE), and Visual Basic application extensions. Prerequisite: None.
CIS110
Computer Office Application
4.5
Medical Office Practice
Credits:: 4.5
Prerequisites:
This course introduces the student to the administrative functions of the medical office or clinic. Emphasis is placed on written and oral communication, scheduling, medical records, documentation and filing. In addition, telephone techniques, etiquette and management/human resource skills will be covered. Prerequisite: MED120.
MED250
Medical Office Practice
4.5
Medical Office Billing, Coding, & Insur
Credits:: 4.5
Prerequisites:
This course will train the student in the major medical insurances and claims forms processing. It will include information on national and other common insurance plans, as well as claim form completion and ICD and CPT coding. Problem solving and managed care systems will also be discussed. Daily financial practices including patient fee determining, credit arrangements bookkeeping and bank-keeping procedures will be discussed. Additionally the process of purchasing equipment and supplies will be covered. Computer use in the ambulatory environment will also be taught. Prerequisite: None. Lecture Hours: 35; Lab Hours: 20.
MED130
Medical Office Billing, Coding, & Insur
4.5
Medical Computer Applications
Credits:: 4.5
Prerequisites:
This course is designed to give the student the exposure to computer software applications as used in the medical office environment. This includes the use of medical office management software for organizing front office procedures and word processing software for typing medical reports and transcription. Other medical software may be introduced. Prerequisite: CIS110. Lecture Hours: 35; Lab Hours: 30.
MED160
Medical Computer Applications
4.5
Arts and Sciences Requirements
See the Arts and Sciences Elective Pool Requirements